Denver Botanic Gardens' School of Botanical Art and Illustration is designed to teach the skills necessary to portray plants accurately both for scientific purposes and for beautiful plant illustrations. The school is open for everybody, both for committed illustrator and enthusiastic amateur. The program can lead to a Certificate that is offered only a few locations worldwide. The Certificate Program was initiated and established in 1990 by Angela Overy.

It takes a gifted artist to become a great teacher and those who dare to teach never cease to learn.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

In addition to our traditional on-site Botanical Illustration curriculum the Botanical Art and Illustration Certificate Program at Denver Botanic Gardens now offers an on-site/off-site program which combines classroom participation with remote online learning opportunities. The students accepted into this distance learning program must reside more than 150 miles away from Denver Botanic Gardens. The work for five of the required 13 courses is completed entirely in the classroom. The remaining courses consist of a two day concentrated classroom instruction followed by three weekly Internet sessions. The successful completion of a final artwork (plate) within one month (30 days) after the conclusion of the on-site session is the culmination of each of the distance learning courses.
For more information and to download the distance learning program for spring 2011 please click here or the image above (or on the right hand column). Online registration for classes (look for distance learning - Pencil II, etc).

Thursday, December 23, 2010

The gifted graphic artist and painter, Rudolf Koivu (1890-1946), is one of Finland's most famous illustrators. Koivu is best known for his illustrations of fairy tales and other children's publications. Koivu's Christmas cards and cover pictures for Christmas magazines have had a strong influence on the Finnish image of a "real Christmas".

Rudolf Koivu Prize (10 000 euros) is awarded every second year for the best children's or youth book illustration in Finland. The Rudolf Koivu prize was first awarded in 1949 to celebrate the lifetime achievements of the artist Rudolf Koivu. The purpose of the prize is to raise the quality of artwork in children's books.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

The juried Botanical Illustration Exhibit Wild Harvest which will explore ethnobotany, the relationship between people and their uses of plants is now on-line. You can view the originals at Denver International Airport, Concourse A, March 7 - June 3, 2011. This exhibit is also shown in the Visual and Performing Arts Gallery at Front Range Community College, Westminster, CO February 14 - March 3, 2011 (Opening reception February 17, 5 - 7 p.m.). To see the individual 32 pieces, please click here.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

If you are in Loveland, CO, please stop by the Loveland Museum Gallery and visit the current Studio Botanica exhibit. The exhibiting artists are offering a selection of related techniques demonstrations in the Foote Gallery, For more information about the free workshops, please click here.
The members of Studio Botanica are: Bonnie Anthony, Jan Boyd Haring, Heather Myers, Susan Olson, Susan Rubin, Constance Sayas and Carol Till. (Taste of the exhibit is provided here.)

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Please, enjoy Carey K. Bagdassarians article published in Conservation Biology (23:1639-1640; 2009): Naturalists, Artists, and Language - something to think about for us scientists, and as much to think about for us artists.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Colorado Gives Day is an inaugural program of the Community First Foundation, which is an organization devoted to raising money for non-profit groups and institutions. The foundation is partnering in the effort with FirstBank which with the Colorado Gives Day Incentive Fund provides matching funds for the individual donations made on December 8th.
Denver Botanic Gardens as a non-profit organization is participating in Colorado Gives Day. You can get some more detailed information about this 24-hour collaborative effort by clicking here (9News article). Make your day better and give a gift to Denver Botanic Gardens - by clicking here you can safely donate online and you can designate your donation to the program of your preference (e.g., Children's Garden, Botanical illustration designated fund, BI-scholarship fund, BI endowment etc.). Every donation makes a difference!

Friday, December 3, 2010

Since 1986, the Mayor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts annually recognize individuals and organizations that have made significant and lasting contributions to the arts in the City and County of Denver.

Today is the deadline for nominations of the Mayor's Award for Excellence in the Arts - Award. Educators and educational institutions such as the Botanical Art and Illustration Certificate Program at Denver Botanic Gardens can be nominated.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

The students from Art Nouveau class had a "reunion" to review their progress and to get some lateral interaction. Please see more images in the BI-Facebook by clicking here.
At this gathering we also discussed the possibility to establish a BI-critique group which would meet about once a month in Hibiscus and would basically function as Open Studio. More about that idea later.